worship

Don't Just Hear...See!

Chris Tomlinson — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:37:13 -0700

Job: “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6).

Here was the most righteous man of his day, steadfastly withstanding the condemnation of his three close and misguided friends. These friends came to Job in his misery and waited with him in silence for seven days. Then they began their escalating (in directness) and diminishing (in effectiveness) arguments against Job, trying to show him that wickedness produces suffering. And Job was right to fight this argument by maintaining His innocence. God was not bringing suffering on Job because of his wickedness.

But then Elihu came to Job, and he spoke of God’s purpose in suffering, to bring sinners to repentance. “If they are bound in chains and caught in the cords of affliction, then he declares to them their work and their transgressions…he opens their ears to instruction and commands that they return from iniquity” (Job 36:8-10). And Job realized that, despite his righteousness, he was still a sinner before a holy God.

There is a kind of hearing of God that produces pride in man. And there is a kind of seeing God that reduces a man to his knees in repentance. Don’t just hear of God, or think of God, or consider God. See, and behold, and delight in Him, that He is a God who is good, and just, and sovereign, and loving, and full of mercy, all for His great glory and our great joy!

Question: Do you ever find yourself hearing of God without seeing Him?

When the Will of God is Scary

Carrie Nye — Sun, 01 May 2011 14:47:23 -0700

True or false? “God yearns to rescue people so that they know God is good.”

Awhile back I visited a mini conference in the Los Angeles area with Gary Haugen as the speaker. Gary Haugen is founder and president of International Justice Mission, a DC based organization that works in a number of countries to combat slavery and ultimately wipe it out completely.

Immediately following the quote above, Gary said, “We are called to help rescue people.” I agree with Gary. As I continue to seek in the Bible what God would have of me in this life, I am more and more convinced that it is the work of justice. In fact, God doesn’t even want my offering and worship to him if I’m not obeying his commands to care and serve those in need. Read Isaiah 58 and you'll see what I mean.

So then what keeps us from taking passages like Isaiah 58 and Micah 6:8 and Amos 5:21-24 seriously? FEAR. Ugh!

Gary then threw out a doozie. He said, “Do you want to be brave or do you want to be safe because you can’t be both.” Personally I was really hoping I could be both and that way I could choose when I felt it was ‘safe’ to be brave and when it wasn’t. Gary also said, “there’s nothing more unattractive than a coward.” Crap. That’s true too. We exalt courageousness so really there isn’t room to be a coward in our society.

Take Shadrach Meshach and Abednego for example. Now they were definitely brave and I’m sure the ladies were lining up to bat their eyes at them after they escaped some serious flames. They were brave. But to be brave, they had to choose not to be safe. God wants us to choose not to be safe and to be brave.

Gary also said, that “doing the will of God in a fallen world is inherently dangerous.” Actually, Jesus said we will suffer because we follow him. Suffering is not God’s will. But in a fallen world, suffering is part of our lives. See 1 Peter 3: 13-17.

There are two things that are always God’s will and always dangerous. Gary said they are telling the truth and loving people. Loving people in need is exactly what Jesus was all about. Loving people is dangerous work and it’s hard work. 1 John talks about how we can’t love God who we can’t see if we can’t love the people we see all the time face to face. Loving needy people will make us feel uncomfortable, yet Jesus says our joy is found when we do love needy people. We’re called to do what’s not safe because that’s what’s needed.

Why is it so hard for us to live in the uncomfortable and love the needy? Gary thinks it’s because our society values success and education to look smart. He said, “choosing brave over smart will be threatening to those who choose smart over brave.” Serving the poor doesn’t look smart or successful. Frankly, rescuing victims of slavery will never look successful in our society. But it is significant to our Heavenly Father. Gary asked us if we “seek success or significance.” Luke 9:24 pretty much sums this up in a few words.

What keeps you from being brave? Gary said there are four things that keep people from being brave.

Comfort – we don’t want to leave the comfort of our lives in this society

Security – we like having freedom from danger

Control – obviously

Success – we have such a high regard for success

So what would it look like to replace these four things with four others that reflect being brave? They might look something like this:

Adventure

Faith

Miracles

Deep knowledge of Jesus

Who doesn’t want those four things?!

The problem is we can’t have the first four and the last four together. We actually have to choose to let go of the first four and only then we can have the last four.

But really, how we can really do this when we have jobs, families, responsibilities, etc?

We could do less. Yea you read that right. We could do less and spend more time reading scripture, taking the time to reflect on it and pray a lot more. Reflect on the life we are living and where we are heading.

We could also search the promises of scripture and take a risk. Take Christ at his word and see if he’s being true. Is God trustworthy or not? Live lives that reflect that scripture is actually true.

We could embark on a lifelong journey of spiritual formation and renovation of the heart. We are called to train to be brave.

So what do you think? Do you want to be safe or do you want to be brave?

From Chronicles of Narnia: Lucy (asking about Aslan), “Is he safe?” “No, but he is good.”

The Masters and the Greatest

Jeff Hopper — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 10:14:11 -0700

“Sing praise-songs to God. He’s done it all!

Let the whole earth know what he’s done!

Raise the roof! Sing your hearts out, O Zion!

The Greatest lives among you: The Holy of Israel.” (Isaiah 12:5-6, The Message)

They wore their emotions for all to see on Sunday. Anger. Frustration. Disappointment. Happiness. Satisfaction. Glee.

And I emoted right along with them, from Charl Schwartzel’s holeout at the second just after I turned on the TV, to Rory McIlroy’s crushing blow at the tenth, to Adam Scott’s dart at the sixteenth, to Luke Donald’s bizarre pin-slamming, chip-dunking birdie at the last. In the end, Schwartzel it was who left us all pleased that someone from that unprecedented pack emerged not as an accidental winner but as a surging champion.

Now, may I make an observation? It’s about me. It’s about all of us, the people who say that the Greatest, the Holy of Israel lives among us.

Too often, because major sports events like the Masters are resolved on Sunday afternoons, I find in me a disappointing juxtaposition. The emotions I express in those hours of watching spirited competition outshine those in the morning hours when I am at worship with God’s people. Why?

For one, we have perhaps let church-going become a lifeless habit. We busy it up with programs and schedules that keep the crowd organized, but this often only contributes to the routine. Is there enough room left for the worship, for the silence, for the unexpected interjection of the Greatest’s own voice (however that might be perceived in your congregation)?

For two, while the Western world is bold in its argumentation, it seems to be timid in its proclamation—and increasingly so when God is involved. Mindful of putting others off, even offending them, we are fearful to cheer God Himself, to be who we were created to be before Him: worshippers in spirit and in truth. Let me ask you this: What would come to mind if someone said to you, “Show some spirit”? Maybe that’s the very question we need to ask ourselves when we think of how to best worship the Holy of Israel.

And for three, while we may speak over coffee about how Christ is living in us, I’m not sure we’re so good at letting Him come alive in us. I’ve got a notion that God is trying to light something much bigger than a candle in us. And if we would let that bonfire burn brightly, we just might find ourselves voicing what Isaiah voiced: “Raise the roof!”

One of my sons, a multi-sport athlete, loves the expression, “Go big or go home.” What would I do if an usher slid up next to me next Sunday morning during worship and said the same? I wonder. I hope I’d laugh at my blown cover and then go big!

(This post is co-published with Links Players International, www.linksplayers.com.)

We are what we worship

Kyle Strobel — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 09:17:44 -0700

I was reading Psalm 135 and came across what appears to be a pretty provocative claim:

"The idols of the nations are but silver and gold, the work of man's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; they have eyes, but they do not see; they have ears but they do not hear, nor is there any breadth at all in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them, yes, everyone who trusts in them" (Psalm 135:15-18).

Idolators will become like what they worship - or, as in the title of this post, we are what we worship. I find this interesting. One of Jesus' most biting claims was that the religious leaders had eyes to see but could not see, and ears to hear, but could not hear - a classic use of the prophets language against idols which were formed with eyes and ears but no life in them. And yet the religious leaders were far from worshipping idols, at least in the classic sense, so what was he doing with that claim?

It seems that our worship is always in danger of grasping ahold of the gifts rather than the giver, and the modes of religious life rather than the life that those things point to. Once our vision grasps onto the signs rather than the thing signified, we become idolators, and we take on the nature of our idolatry. Instead, let us lift our eyes to the One seated at the right hand of God, looking to Him who calls us to Himself, and not simply to a series of actions.

How do you see worship forming, both positively and negatively in our church today?

American Idolatry

Holly Ordway — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:38:01 -0700

The fact that we have a television show called American Idol is a bit of an indication that we don’t really know what an idol is – or what our attitude toward one ought to be.

I will confess, I am sufficiently behind the pop-culture curve that I have never actually watched American Idol, but because I do not live under a rock, I am familiar with what the show is about, and how it works. (Call it cultural osmosis.) As far as I can tell, it’s a harmless and entertaining show.

I do find the name interesting, however. American Idol. Who will be the next Idol? Lots of people want to be an idol – and millions more are eagerly waiting to find out whom they will idolize next.

But what really is an idol?

An idol is anything that we worship other than the one true and living God. Period.

We have to stop here for a moment, and think about what that means. Let’s start from the basic premise: in order to put something in the place of God, we have to recognize that God exists – and that He exists whether we recognize His existence or not. (Along similar lines, San Diego Gas & Electric supplies the power to my home, whether or not I give any thought whatsoever to the reason why I magically get light whenever I flip a switch.)

If we deny His existence, then we are going to become idolaters, no matter what. The human heart seeks to worship God, the God who made us in His image, and if we deny ourselves the correct orientation for our worship, then we will put something else in that place. In human lives, something always has to come first. The only question is, what? If we recognize His existence – for instance, by using our reason to understand the evidence that points to Him – then we are in the favorable position of being able, with His help, to put Him first in our lives.

Next, what does it mean that He is a living God? It means that putting Him first doesn’t mean just attaching a “High Importance” label to the idea of God. Rather, it means that we seek to enter into, sustain, and deepen a relationship with the most holy Trinity, the God who not only made us, but who also became incarnate to save us from our own alienation from Him.

If we remake God in our own image, we are engaged in idolatry just as much as if we deny Him and worship something else. If we translate “God is love” into “love is God,” then we are making an idol. If we re-cast Jesus into a figure who makes no inconvenient demands on our lives, if we try to make him something other than true God and true man, the crucified and Risen Lord, then we may think we are worshiping Christ but we are really worshipping an idol. Yes, orthodoxy is a matter of life and death.

Finally, what does it mean to worship? To worship an idol does not mean that we have a little statue of Baal in the backyard, to which we offer sacrifices. To worship, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, means “to honour or adore.” In other words, to put it first, to give it the best and largest share of our thoughts, time, and energy.

I would argue that the most common idols in our culture are money and consumer goods; sex; and work. All of these things are good when used rightly, but all become terrible when put first. You don’t have to be a philosopher to recognize this; just look at the families of workaholics, or the character and personal relationships of those who pursue sexual gratification for its own sake.

Or look in your own heart. In a culture so full of idols, all clamoring for our devotion, it would take a real saint to not struggle at least a little bit against the siren song of idolatry. For myself, I recognize the temptation to make my teaching into an idol, particularly since I work in an environment that encourages an unhealthy level of identification of oneself with one’s work, and a culture of workaholism. I have to resist the temptation to think that the work itself is of the highest importance in my life. Yes, it’s challenging, rewarding, exciting, and worthwhile – but only insofar as I recognize that it’s work God has given me to do, at this particular time in my life, using the gifts He has given me, and putting Him first.

There’s one last thing about idols. Idols demand sacrifice. We even use the word, if our particular idol is work and money: we make sacrifices to rise in our career, to get the promotion, to achieve what we think is success. Those sacrifices are usually of other people, aren’t they? Friends. Children. Spouses; consider how high our divorce rate is – how many marriages have been immolated on the altar of Success?

The idol of sex has its demands for sacrifice, too – oh, indeed it does, and they are terrible.

God the most holy Trinity also asks for sacrifice – but He does not call us to sacrifice someone else. He asks for nothing less than ourselves, holding nothing back. Yet, in the great mystery of redemption, when we say Yes to that sacrifice, that death of self, we learn that He has already made the sacrifice for us: our Father has provided, Himself, the one sacrifice that is all in all, never repeated, yet eternally present: His only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is both our great high priest and the sacrificial Lamb of God. When we participate in that sacrifice, when we die with Christ, we also rise with Christ – and in giving ourselves wholly to Him, we become, ever more completely, who we were always meant to be.

No idol can ever deliver on that promise.

What is idolatry? Seeking the gift and not the Giver; loving what He has made when He calls us to love and be loved by Him. May we turn from our idols, whatever form they may take, however appealing they may be, and instead seek the face of Reality, the one true and living God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Patriotism and the House of Worship

Christy Tennant — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 13:32:39 -0700

I grew up in a church that celebrated the Fourth of July every year with a big patriotic musical. That was the one Sunday of the year when everyone was encouraged to "dress casual," the service included a lot of patriotic songs, and the preaching focused on how America needs to get back to her Christian roots. Songs were sung about how we are one nation under God. Military veterens dressed in their uniforms. There was a color guard that marched in with the American flag and led us through the Pledge of Allegiance. Come to think of it, the entire sanctuary was decked out in American flags, and everyone dressed in red, white and blue. Following the worship service, there was always a church picnic on the grounds.

It has been a while - years - since I've been part of this celebration, but this year I went.

I found it... jarring. The music was excellent, the people were all in fun and festive moods, and the church was more full than usual on a Sunday.

But over the years, especially as my passion for global Christianity has grown, patriotism mixed with religion has begun to leave a very bad taste in my mouth. I find that many Christians, and the preachers who teach them, have a very wonky theology when it comes to what it means to be a Christian nation. The more time I have spent with Christians in other (especially oppressed) countries, the more the idea that America is a Christian nation strikes me as ridiculous.

I am grateful for the fact that I live in America. I love America. I am humbled by the freedom we have, by the opportunities open to me simply because I hold an American passport, the protections I enjoy simply because I am a national. And when we sang a medley of the various armed forces theme songs this morning, with men (only men) in uniform marching in and bearing their branch's flag, I got misty eyed. I am grateful for the armed forces. I sleep well at night because those men - and women - are doing their jobs well.

But I really buck against the suggestion that America is a Christian nation. The very foundation of our nation is morality based on Judeo-Christian scriptures, to be sure. But many of our founding fathers were deists or secular humanists, and the very liberty we celebrate is liberty to worship whom and how we wish.

In fact, and this is what I always find myself wanting to scream at the top of my lungs, there is one nation under God - but it is not the United States of America. The one nation under God is made up of people from every tribe and speakers of every language that exists under the sun. To buy into the lie that America is united under God is a huge misunderstanding of both American history and biblical truth.

The men and women who are fighting for our freedom are also fighting for the freedom of Muslims in America, Buddhists in America, secular humanists in America, and... you get the picture.

So worship in my home church - the church I grew up in, the church I was baptised in - this morning was a real wrestling match. On the one hand, I tried to focus on what I am grateful for when it comes to my nationality and I prayed for my country and her leaders. I teared up singing the "Caisons go Rolling Along," thinking of my dad's service on the front lines of war in Viet Nam.

But on the other hand, I did not join in saying the pledge of allegiance - my allegiance is pledged to Christ, and there may come a time when I will have to choose between allegiance to my nation or to my God; I want my mind to be clearly made up if that time ever comes. I also feel very duplicitous worshiping the God of Genesis 12 and Psalm 67 and Galatians 3 and Revelation 5 (i.e. the God of all nations) and declaring, hand to heart, my allegiance to a socio-political nation. I am grateful for America, but I do not swear my allegiance to her. She might turn on me - she might lead me astray; God never will.

I love what the American flag stands for, and I actually have a rendering of one - made by a soldier/artist who is also my friend - hanging in my home. But the lines get very fuzzy for me when Old Glory is hanging at the foot of the cross.

So I'm curious: how do you feel about this? Does your church bring patriotism into worship? Do you have an American flag on display in your sanctuary?

Do you have something to share that challenges where I'm coming from here? My heels are not dug in the ground here - I'm open to other ideas and interpretations. I'm trying to approach this with humility, and I don't begrudge those who celebrate our nation as a church. One Sunday out of the year devoted to patriotism is not "wrong."

Its just more of a personal conviction that I have to wrestle with annually. Thoughts?

Being the Greater Worshiping Church

Manuel Luz — Mon, 10 May 2010 14:38:36 -0700

I have long been an advocate for sustained relationships between local worship leaders/pastors. When I meet a young worship leader, one of the questions I may ask them is, "Where are you in fellowship with other worship leaders like yourself?" It is an important question—one that exposes our attitudes about ministry, mission, worship, and even ourselves. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I guess if I were to start at the beginning, it would be about twenty years ago. A small fellowship of senior pastors in our area, the Twin Lakes Christian Ministerial Association, has been meeting faithfully every week for about twenty years. The group shares their struggles and successes, and they pray for one another—and one another's churches. In this era of church shopping and hopping, it may come as a surprise to the people in our area that their local pastors know and care deeply for one another. In fact, I think it is one of the hidden, longstanding strengths of our community — that the Christian pastors of our area are united in friendship and in faith.

This was the model we followed as a few of the local worship pastors have tried to create our own fellowship. Over the years, we've had limited success. The life expectancy of a worship pastor is only two to four years (not a scientific number, just an observation based on my experience), so creating long lasting friendships are difficult. Also, there were a number of worship leaders who simply never returned phone calls or ignored invitations. But in the last year, we've been able to pull together seven churches (and counting) in a once-a-month fellowship. We hang out together over lattes, share ministry ideas and the latest worship songs, commiserate our challenges and celebrate our successes. And in the process of becoming friends, we are learning what "love one another" means in deeper and more ecclesiastical ways.

We celebrated a milestone of sorts during the recent National Day of Prayer on May 6. As a result of a shared vision among us, nine worship leaders and a modest choir from seven churches led worship at an evening event we called, "WE are ONE." Essentially, the worship pastors of our area became a worship team together, each of us co-leading in a very practical example of mutual submission. Hundreds of people from ten churches moved beyond the artificial borders of our church walls to pray and worship together and model the greater Church that we are. Moreover, we experienced community at other levels as well, from sound techs from different churches sharing tech tips around our digital sound board, to choir members from different churches gathering and praying with one another. It was a great night, and a good beginning to something we hope will become something much bigger than ourselves.

As I reflect upon this evening and what it represents, I'd like to share a few reasons why I believe fellowship between local worship leaders is a non-negotiable aspect of being the Church:

Publicly, it makes us co-laborers, not rivals. When we look at the church down the street as a competitor, we adopt a pervasive Christian consumerism that is unhealthy, un-Bliblical, and even anti-Church. I remember seeing a cartoon once in a church magazine. Two churches sit on opposite corners of the street, each with a marquee sign. The first marquee reads, "Come meet God here." The second marquee reads, "Yeah, but we have better music." Of course, competition between churches is more hidden and nuanced, but it is still all too often real. Fellowship with other worship pastors breaks down the rival attitudes and allows us to operate as partners—and not rivals—in ministry.

Personally, it helps us worship pastors stay humble. There are pecking orders—on the playground, in the workplace, and even in ministry. Just watch any gathering of pastors, and the inevitable question is posed: "What is your attendance?" It is unfortunate, but these man-made pecking orders—while often unintended and subconscious—drive our attitudes toward one another. To be blunt, the pastors of larger churches feel superior, and the pastors of smaller churches feel inadequate. The worst example of this is the personality-driven church, where the pastors and worship leaders attain rock star status. But what if true fellowship between worship pastors happens? What if we're able to shed the posturing and pretending and be the Church to one another on a deeply personal level? Mutual submission, authenticity, humility, and a freedom to worship.

Globally, it furthers our witness, and frees the Spirit of God to move in greater ways. Through the fellowship of senior pastors in our area, many local churches work purposefully together to support the local food bank, the local homeless ministry, and other important needs in our community. The Gospel can be lived out more fully when churches cooperate in a shared vision for their community. And that includes being a worshiping community.

One of the highlights of our "We are One" event was watching the senior pastors of our respective churches—all sitting in the front row—watch us lead them in worship. Amongst the crowd of raised hands and raised voices, I saw our senior pastors worshiping and praying together. In a very real way, they were a microcosm of the Church itself. It is in moments such as these that I feel the smile of God upon us.

"Now the church is not wood and stone, but the company of people who believe in Christ." —Martin Luther

An Attitude of Worship

Renee Johnson — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 23:39:58 -0700

[My Response to Spirituality vs. Religion] - Most young adults today don’t pray, don’t worship and don’t read the Bible (1). USA Today posted an article on a study LifeWay did reporting 72% of Millennials (ages 18-29) are more ’spiritual than religious.’ I find this rather fascinating and deeply disturbing. Why? Because I think we’re missing the point.

Our attitude of worship.

“The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice.” Psalm 97:1 NLT

If you had the best boss, partner, authority figure, or president in the world. Would you brag about him or her? Yes. 100% yes. All in favor? Yes! Why? Because we were created with heaven in mind. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that God is worth it. All my worship. And then some.

From the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45).

What does your attitude say about you? Are you hiding behind your fake spirituality or worshiping the One true God? He is Christ the King!

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!”- Philippians 2:5-8

(1) http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2010-04-27-1Amillfaith27_ST_N.htm?csp=usat.me

Catalyst Comes to a Close

Carrie Nye — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 21:03:38 -0700

What do you get when you bring together gum walls, skinny jeans, confetti, creepy mustache's on twenty-something’s, poetry, comedy, rock music, hipsters, rap music, any and all music really, Tenley from last seasons The Bachelor, time travel, 6 roach coaches and powerful speakers like Eugene Cho, Kay Warren, Mark Driscoll, Wes Stafford and Donald Miller, just to name a few?

Catalyst West Coast.

The two-day leadership conference came to a close yesterday afternoon as Andy Stanley taught leadership to the 3400 leaders present. He made comment like, "As leaders, you should be making as few decisions as possible" and "Only do what you can do." He also said "Leadership is about getting things done through other people."

Earlier in the day, Wess Stafford of Compassion International said, "I'm convinced the prayer of a child in poverty or in abuse is the most powerful force." Just before making that statement, he said something that really struck me. He said, "We may not be committing the sin of endangering a child, but we are committing the sin of omission by allowing a child to be endangered."

Erwin McManus talked about how Solomon got it wrong when he said "there is nothing new under the sun." Erwin said "God created us for originality; not just effectiveness. Everything God does is new. He is constantly creating the new. Only in the new do we find the beautiful. Live lives of story and meaning and create new beauty."

The speakers were all great. The music was awesome. The crowd was very enthusiastic. Some of the highlights for me were hearing Andy Stanley, Wess Stafford and Mark Droscoll. Comedian Michael Jr. was a definite highlight. In fact, you'll want to pick up his documentary Comedy: The Road Less Traveled this fall. The documentary follows Michael Jr. as he tours the nation bringing comedy to Skid Row, drug rehabilitation homes and prisons.

I hope you've enjoyed hearing a bit about the conference and reading a handful of the quotes that I've taken away from the speakers over the past few days. It was pretty cool to be there.

Slavery in America: The Year of Jubilee

Carrie Nye — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 21:57:17 -0700

On the way to church this morning, my mom and brother and I were talking about how our world would be so different today if we still practiced Jubilee. We talked about how great it would feel to have our debt wiped away and the opportunities we’d be given if only it were still practiced today.

Directly after the service, I ran into a friend of mine who I traveled with to Malawi a couple years ago. It’d been a few months since we’d run into each other. It was great to see him. He shared with us that he had been in our neck of the woods earlier in the week and had thought of me while nearby. He drew out the night and day differences between the area where I live and the area where we were attending church this morning. He asked, “Why aren’t we hanging out with the people who live in your neighborhood more?”

Every morning, I walk through my condo complex, onto the main street and walk about 5 minutes to my families’ house in order to borrow a car to drive to work. On my way, I walk under a freeway overpass, wearing my business work attire and carrying my lunch and my purse at my side. There are two homeless people living under that overpass, one on each side of the street. I walk briskly, hand tightly on the straps of my purse and lunch bag and I try not to inhale the urine stench lurking in the air. After about five minutes, I reach the car I borrow and drive off to work in one of Orange County's wealthiest cities.

Last weekend I had a conversation with a woman named Cathy. Cathy and I are working on a blog about American Slavery and Prostitution for the Slavery in America series here on ConversantLife.com. Cathy defined social justice in a way that really made sense to me. Cathy said social justice is removing barriers. Every morning, this past week, I thought about that as I walked under the overpass holding my breath and clutching my purse. What are the barriers that exist for the people sleeping under this stinky overpass?

On the way home from church, we talked about all the privileges we have as Americans. We were driving in a car; there’s one privilege that sets us apart from so many in our world. We have wireless internet in our homes and multiple computers just among the three of us. We can turn any faucet on in our homes and be assured it will spout out water until we deem it enough and turn the faucet off.

We talked about Isaiah 58. In the first part of the chapter, the people are grumbling at God because they fast and don’t think God sees their efforts. They humble themselves but wonder if God notices. The footnote for this passage in my Archeological Study Bible says, they were going through the motions of religion – specifically fasting – for the same reason the pagans participated in their rituals: in an attempt to manipulate God to act in their favor.

God responds in verses 6-7 with his purpose and design for fasting; the kind of fasting that is pleasing and acceptable to God. He says this:

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

After taking a delightful Sunday afternoon nap, I wanted to look at Isaiah 58 a bit further. I pulled out a favorite book of mine off my bookshelf and searched the scripture index for Isaiah 58. I didn’t realize until I opened up to page 300 that the author, Christopher J. H. Wright correlates Isaiah 58 to the Hebrew Jubilee tradition. He says this about Jubilee:

It [Jubilee] set a temporal limit on unjust social relations – they would not last forever. The jubilee brought hope for change. The Jubilee had two major thrusts: release/liberty, and return/restoration. That is, these economic terms of hope and longing for the future, and thus entered into prophetic eschatology.

You can’t talk about the year of Jubilee and loosening the chains of injustice without talking about Jesus. Jesus’ words in Luke 4:18-19 present us with a personal mission statement about what he set out to do in his earthly ministry. Jesus’ mission is exactly God’s mission found in Isaiah with the Jubilee. Check this out:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Jesus is quoting Isaiah 61, which was strongly influenced by Jubilee concepts. Jesus fulfilled his Jubilee natured mission statement as proclaimed and enacted, spiritual and physical, for Israel and the nations, and in both present and eschatological terms.

There is another time where Jesus refers to Jubilee like actions when he encounters the Samaritan woman at the well. The woman talks about where she worships compared to where the Jews worship. She referred to worship as a place and Jesus replies to her by saying that true worshippers worship in both spirit and truth. Jesus says that God is spirit and therefore we must worship him in both spirit and in truth.

Going back to Isaiah 58, the kind of worship the people were practicing, was worship in a temple, one day a week. The kind of worship God desires is the kind that gets us out of the walls of our churches and into the communities where we live. God desires that we worship him by removing barriers that bind people in a state of bondage and oppression.

No matter where you live, you don’t have to go far to see injustice and people in great need. For my friend I saw at church today, he went about 15 miles. For me, I simply walk just a few minutes before I am approached with injustice.

I’ve been writing a lot lately on the problem of human trafficking in America. Human trafficking is a secondary problem of many deeply rooted problems of injustice. Human trafficking exists because in many places there is an absence of the rule of law that would serve to protect the poor and the vulnerable, most of who are women and children. It exists because there is a demand for sex by a people who are broken and searching for satisfaction that only God can bring. It exists because we are an ignorant people when it comes to how our food, clothing and cell phones are made and distributed to us. It exists because kids are fleeing broken homes and ending up in the arms of strangers who take advantage of them. It exists because America’s immigration system is so screwed up and people so desperate for a better life that many end up in dangerous situations and in corrupt hands. And is exists because people like me walk right by need daily, holding our breath from the raw stench and dirt, ignoring the problems that lay awake in our backyards in this country.

Isaiah 58 ends with powerful promises made by the Lord for those who choose to leave the comfort of their church pew and worship him in spirit and in truth. He says your light will rise in the darkness; your night will become like noonday. He will always guide you, you will be satisfied in the midst of great need and you will be known. You will be like a well-watered garden; like a spring whose waters never fail. You will rebuild and will be called repairer of broken walls, restorer of streets with dwellings. You will find your joy in the Lord.

This human trafficking problem is much bigger than I first thought it would be. The ways of the Lord are much mightier still! Our hope is found in Jesus, the one who releases and restores! May we be people who practice Jubilee today, beginning with me.